The Garden of Ashes
by erdevereux
Summary: Taking place in the future, the series of random spurts of violence from monsters strikes fear in the hearts of humans trying to coexist with them.


Chapter One

The Fall

Ever since I was a young child, my grandfather would visit and tell me tales of the time monsters and humans joined hands and began living in harmony with one another. I still recall his leathery, wrinkled face and how it would always brighten and stretch into a wide grin when he recounted his childhood memories with nostalgic flair under rose-tinted glasses. His retold his account in expressive, wordy detail about the day the monsters descended from the mountains and how in due time, we as a society slowly became accustomed to them living among us. His narrative was filled with descriptions of every monster he had encountered in his youth with a child-like whimsy, which gripped my short, childish attention span with eagerness to hear more the next time he considered visiting.

Looking back now, I couldn't fathom how long it would have taken for the process of coexistence between such drastically different beings. Nevertheless, if my grandfather enjoyed their presence, I still respect his wishes. He was my mentor as much as he was my loving grandfather, and I didn't think of his views as naïve or overly optimistic. Though, if you asked me about how I perceived monsters now, I would say that my views were altered significantly.

It was like every morning; I woke up and groggily walked downstairs to see my father in the living room watching the news on the television. All the while, my mother stood over the kitchen oven to make breakfast and morning coffee as usual. It appeared to be a typical morning with the same old deep, alluring earthy notes of coffee emanating into the air...until the news on TV flashed something grim, and tore us from our normal routine to focus on the screen. I remember the frantic voice of the reporter going off; the images displaying the scene of an accident with a monster who had injured five and murdered two in a violent rampage. I recall the horrified expressions on my parents' faces when they averted their attention to one of the victims being reported on the news.

I couldn't believe my eyes…

In the list of names mentioned, we just knew. It was my grandfather. Being a victim in the tragedy, my grandfather was rushed to the hospital for resuscitation. Unfortunately, my family wasn't permitted to see him as he was in critical condition. On that fateful day, we remained on the bench all night until a doctor finally approached us after a long surgery. They had nothing to say other than announcing that my grandfather had passed away from fatal wounds. This devastated my mother to tears, leaving my father silently raging. And me? I experienced a bunch of things. Those things being a flood of emotions of fright, bafflement, and grief. That was nine months ago, and the news still blared off at random intervals on the violent acts of more monsters suddenly breaking out in a frenzy. Reports later revealed that the imprisoned calmed down shortly after and frantically questioned why they were in prison. I couldn't just stand idly by, watching everything unfold like this every day.

It took some thought, a lot of thought really. I knew it would have concerned my parents if I had just told them about what I was about to do. To set my plans in action, I told them I would visit my grandfather's house to clean it out and bring some memorabilia back with me. Understandingly, my parents let me go with my mother embracing me knowing how much the accident pained me because I loved that old bag of farts to death. They thought this was my way of getting closure and that was that. Little did they know; it was partly true. With a ticket purchased for a long bus ride ahead, I hopped on and set off to the town where the death of my beloved grandfather had taken place. The town he had lived in was one of the smaller suburbs at the base of the mountain, so it would be a long trip from where I lived. Taking a seat somewhere in the middle rows, I gladly took the window seat since few boarded the bus. To my knowledge, a meager amount of people went there after the news of random violence from the monsters. The town was between the outskirts and the big city, and everyone knew it for its balanced ratio of humans and monsters living together in harmony.

Even though I had visited as a young child, I only had vague memories of this town. My parents, or my father in particular, were uncomfortable with driving through an area filled with monsters. For that reason, I only went to visit my grandfather. Father was the insensitive, concerned one out of our family, as he was always the one discomforted over the idea that these monsters had dangerous powers compared to the rest of us. My town wasn't very populated with monsters as it was too far away from the mountains they have originated from, so this might be the first time seeing an authentic monster in the flesh.

Regardless, I did not remember much about the bus ride, since I have fallen asleep midway. I woke up around the time when the bus was driving through the last stretch towards our destination. My eyes widened to the view of the verdant green pastures and the tall trees beautifully stretching to the vibrant blue skies above. They were a sight to witness, as I pressed myself against the cool glass of the bus window to take it in. Both of my parents worked in offices in the city, so we naturally lived in the hustle and bustle of the metropolis to accommodate for a shorter commute. I have been away for so long that I forgot how appealing the suburbs appeared to me.

Several hours later, I found myself in front of the town's sign. Upon observation, the sign read New New Home with a sun-bleached mountain painting as its border. You could tell this sign needed a new paint job, or maybe just a new sign by looking at it. I wrinkled my nose to the preposterous name of this place then shuffled my steps down the white pavement. It was a small town to navigate, but I noticed several monsters on the way to my home. None of them seemed to be the surly sort, going about their business as usual. Maybe the news was blowing things out of proportion? Uncertainty crossed my mind as I finally arrived at the doorsteps of my grandfather's residence. Luckily, I had the house key given to me after his passing. With a click, I unlocked the door and found myself in the dusty, dark living room of his home.

I reminisced about the time when grandpa and I used to play pretend in this room, playing knights as I rode on his back as he crawled the space of this floor like some horse. Dismissing the memory for a later date, I walked across the living room and into the back where the stairs leading up to his bedroom were. Each step creaked under my feet while I scaled up to the hallway upstairs. This house was dreadfully old, considering that my grandpa used to live here since he was a child. Swatting a web that hung low from the ceiling, I reached for the doorknob of his bedroom and opened the door.

Inside the room was an array of folders and papers atop a large wooden desk, complete with the ergonomic office chair my mother bought for him on Father's Day. My eyes shifted towards his neatly made bed, which hadn't been slept in for nine months. The sensation of being in this very room gave me a solemn feeling. I wanted to check if there was any trace about the events leading up to my grandfather's untimely death; but I found nothing. Upon closer inspection of his desk, I noticed a myriad of pictures of Grandpa with his human and monster buddies among various greeting cards and other knickknacks. It was apparent that he was just a jovial, goofy, fun-loving man that did not deserve that kind of end. In spite of this, I couldn't just linger in anger over the past; I had something important to do.

Heading towards the closet near the bedside, I opened the door and began gazing at various board games, casual wear, suits, and coats organized neatly in their places. My eyes scanned quickly in search of something. At last, I found it: Grandpa's trusty bow and arrows. It was the kind he used to take on our target practice escapades in the fields around here. I carefully grasped it in my hands whilst slinging the leather quiver of metallic arrows over my shoulder. For now, the plan was to wait until nightfall. Then, I would depart once there were fewer villagers up and about. Lying on the bed, I closed my eyes and gradually fell into slumber. At last, the exhaustion from the journey triumphed in taking hold of my weary body.

During my rest, I experienced a barely memorable dream. Of what I can make out, it was silent, as if I was standing in darkness and in my lonesome. It felt as if I was headed towards a deep tunnel of nothingness accompanied by a cacophony of whispers ringing throughout my ears. Then abruptly, a distinct, distorted voice bellowed through the noisy discord, catching my full attention within the dream.

_Psst. You must... S... _

My eyes shot open, only to see the room painted in the faint blue light cascading through the window as it cast a silhouette of the bed frame onto the ceiling. It was nighttime, and it took a brief moment before the realization set in that I was here with a purpose. I proceeded to peel my haggard body off the sheets, groggily adjusted the quiver over my shoulder and gripped the bow firmly in my hand. Saying my farewells to the house of my grandfather within my thoughts, I began sneaking out through the backdoor. Crossing the overgrown lawn of grass and weeds, I made a mental note of coming back to grandpa's house more often, seeing that his garden hadn't been tended to in months. Thankfully, there was no need to jump over any fences, since my grandpa had a fence gate installed in the back. This place led to the woods, which eventually led up to the mountain path that led to the rumored entrance of Mt. Ebott. It required a good climb, but fortunately, the night air was much cooler than the afternoon's which would aid in not breaking too much of a sweat. Upon reaching the summit, I plopped myself down onto a rock, haggardly gasping for air as I was only a mere city-slicker only used to brisk walks around the park of my neighborhood. Now if I were an entrance to the lands previously occupied by monsters, where would I be?

Keenly eyeing the place, I lifted myself off the rock and began to walk around. The area was just a stony formation with a light gravel path as a source of traction for any mountaineering folk that may come up here. I believed that this would be easy, finding some kind of cave or pit somewhere in the mountains that I could easily crawl down to, but to no avail. Were the stories of my grandfather false? Voicing my frustrations through low grumbles and whispers of curses, I leaned my hand onto the stony surface of the mountain and immediately regretted my decision. The wall began to crumble under the weight, causing me fall to my side and plummet into the darkness below. All I could recollect were my screams reverberating as I made my deadly descent to regions unknown. I felt as if my life was flashing before my eyes before stopping short.

After an undetermined amount of time, I finally regained consciousness. Everything ached, maybe I broke something when I hit the ground, who knows. Feebly, I rose from my spot languidly and saw my bow at my side. _Oh good, so it fell with me._ I discovered that I was sitting in what it seemed to be pale powder or some sort in a bed of golden flowers. My head couldn't wrap around what this substance might be, but that wasn't important right now. After a bit of struggling, I was able to stand right back up on my two feet. With my bow in hand, I prepared to inspect this foreign area before proceeding.

You could hear a pin drop in this place, but that was expected as it appeared to be a ruin of some sort. I knelt down over the pile of fine powder spread across the field of flowers, scooping some of it in my hands before hearing an echo of footsteps resounding from the distance. Straightening up as paranoia gripped my attention, my eyes narrowed in an attempt to adjust to the dim surroundings. It was clear that someone else was here with me and now approaching in my direction. Instinctively, I raised my bow and reached behind at my quiver, only to be shocked at feeling a single arrow remaining within its leather container. This threw me into a panic as I made an effort into steadying my bow, desperate to not miss in case of it being a hostile creature lurking at the bottom of this pit.

A sudden low growl which sounded almost human chillingly pierced my ears while simultaneously sending shivers down my spine. Once my eyes finally took sight of the shadowy figure slowly emerging into view, it did not appear to be just an average creature. It had a towering figure of stark white, hollow sunken eyes of the void, and sharp fangs peering down at me–an enraged walking skeleton that was giving off the impression that they weren't here to make friendly conversation. I drew my bow, aiming at the possible threat as a warning to show that I also wasn't to be trifled with.

"I'm not here to cause trouble." I alerted in a firm voice, or at least I tried to as the back of my throat felt as if it was about to lock up from anxiety.

No response.

The skeletal stranger continued stepping closer and closer, the bestial sounds of groans and growls showed that this individual was intending to attack similar to the news report broadcastings. My hands gripping the bow and drawn arrow began to tremble as I took several steps back. I felt a pang of uncertainty and pressure against my heart. "I said I am not here to cause trouble! Step away now!" I shouted my warning one last time, but the skeleton did not relent. They treaded on, still baring their fangs and appearing like a hungry beast ready to strike.

Beads of sweat started to form at my brow. Then without thinking, I let go of the drawstring, firing my only arrow at the monster who wouldn't listen to my warnings. I just prayed that I would hit my mark. However, seeing that I've solely practiced with stationary targets, I watched on as the arrow sailed off into the darkness past the ever approaching monster. I was doomed and I crumbled at the thought that I would die here without my parents ever discovering where I was. Tears began to sting my eyes as I felt the inevitable helplessness and fright crawl at my back as I stood there trembling like a leaf.

_Draw your bow and focus._

It was that voice from my dream again, but clearer now. "Draw my bow? I have no more arrows to fire!" I frantically shouted at the air, turning my head around the area to see that there was no one else but the skeleton still inching towards me.

_Focus your emotions to your hand and fire._

Well, I had nothing else to lose. Bitter tears continued to flow from my eyes as I tried to concentrate on my current emotions of helplessness and the stifling mire of my sorrows of the possible death of myself that was apparent in this encounter. Suddenly a grayish light fluttered around the hand wielding the bow and formed into what appeared to be an arrow. Was this what the voice was trying to tell me to do?

As the voice instructed, I fired this puzzling arrow of gray light at the skeleton but before the arrow made its mark; it fizzled and faded from existence. Disappointment broiled from my emotions as I believed the arrow would surely hit this time. I shouted with frustration, stomping the ground and loathed the fact that I must have done something wrong. At the sound of my stomp, the skeleton twitched and quivered its lanky body like a mechanical robot, a guttural growl escaped through its fangs as it lunged forth at my direction.

_Keep your focus. Fire again._

The voice again. I heard it but I was busy screeching in fear as the claws of the skeleton shot forth. I cowardly ducked out of the way in the nick of time and scrambled off on my hands and feet to try and gain some distance. Yet again, another swipe from the monster managed to induce another yell of terror as I took a fall back. My heart felt like it was squeezed into a pulp from the pressure as I attempted to fire again. This time, the arrow of light burned much brighter as the skeleton shortened the distance between us in an instant. He was mere seconds away from plunging his claws into my chest, but was abruptly halted by the arrow firing into his shoulder. The arrow quickly dissipated, leaving no wound, but it appeared to have done something.

Suddenly I felt it, the turbulent rage that blinded this monster quelled like the aftermath of a storm. My widened trembling eyes peered up at theirs, watching their hollow sockets begin to shine with little light orbs that seemed to be staring right back. Whether it was from anxiety or fear from this fight, the feeling that my heart would burst was no longer there. Strangely enough, the skeleton steadily took several steps back and looked to be... Crying?

"I apologize. I'm not sure why I am crying. Please give me a moment." A low, yet clear masculine voice rang from the skeleton as I watched him wipe his hollow sockets of the tears. He simply rubbed his pale ivory face into his sleeves then shifted his attention back at me. Taking a good look at him now, I noticed that I was nearly half his height. He was dressed rather casually, donning an aviator jacket over a t-shirt paired with some dark slacks. Just as I began to examine his bare, skeletal feet, the skeleton extended his hand out to me as if he wanted to shake hands.

"You came at a bad time. People call me 'Bas' around here, or at least they used to. What is your name?" Bas inquired, his little white orbs in his sockets staring at me with intrigue.

"Nana." I responded flatly with some distrust crossing my mind, slowly extending my hand back and giving a firm shake.

"Nana, then. I don't know what you did, but you snapped me out of the trance everyone is going under. I will repay the favor by leading you out of here before you get hurt." Bas stated, smiling gently with his eyes while his heavily fanged mouth, in contrast, remained placidly still.

"Trance? What exactly is going on here?" I asked with a quirk of my brow. My attention was fully on the towering skeleton monster now that he had mentioned some information. This might be the reason why there were random acts of violence from the monsters above.

"Walk with me. I'll let you in on what I know." He uttered with a wary glance onward, his skeletal hand rubbed the back of his bare cervical column as he walked towards the direction he came from. I couldn't do anything but follow...that's all I could do for now.


End file.
